Blue Trust Inc. Buys 7,090 Shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP)

Blue Trust Inc. lifted its stake in shares of PepsiCo, Inc. (NASDAQ:PEP) by 19.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 42,692 shares of the company’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,090 shares during the quarter. Blue Trust Inc.’s holdings in PepsiCo were worth $6,492,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. State Street Corp boosted its stake in PepsiCo by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 57,268,030 shares of the company’s stock worth $9,738,429,000 after purchasing an additional 2,775,679 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 1.8% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 30,497,268 shares of the company’s stock worth $5,170,529,000 after acquiring an additional 543,558 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 21,360,850 shares of the company’s stock worth $3,632,413,000 after acquiring an additional 1,125,059 shares in the last quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 21.1% during the 3rd quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 13,021,316 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,293,049,000 after acquiring an additional 2,264,445 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of PepsiCo by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 12,098,551 shares of the company’s stock worth $2,057,359,000 after acquiring an additional 313,468 shares in the last quarter. 73.07% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

PepsiCo Stock Performance

PEP stock opened at $143.39 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.05. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $150.09 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.41. PepsiCo, Inc. has a twelve month low of $141.51 and a twelve month high of $183.41. The firm has a market cap of $196.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 20.63, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.54.

PepsiCo (NASDAQ:PEP) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 4th. The company reported $1.96 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.94 by $0.02. PepsiCo had a return on equity of 58.87% and a net margin of 10.43%. The business had revenue of $27.78 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $27.89 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.78 EPS. The business’s revenue was down .2% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that PepsiCo, Inc. will post 8.34 earnings per share for the current year.

PepsiCo Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, March 31st. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 7th will be given a dividend of $1.355 per share. This represents a $5.42 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.78%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 7th. PepsiCo’s payout ratio is 77.99%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have recently issued reports on PEP shares. HSBC decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $186.00 to $170.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, February 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on PepsiCo from $184.00 to $178.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 22nd. Piper Sandler began coverage on PepsiCo in a report on Tuesday, January 7th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $171.00 price objective on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their price target on PepsiCo from $183.00 to $160.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 8th. Finally, CICC Research restated a “market perform” rating on shares of PepsiCo in a report on Friday, February 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, twelve have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $171.47.

PepsiCo Company Profile

PepsiCo, Inc engages in the manufacture, marketing, distribution, and sale of various beverages and convenient foods worldwide. The company operates through seven segments: Frito-Lay North America; Quaker Foods North America; PepsiCo Beverages North America; Latin America; Europe; Africa, Middle East and South Asia; and Asia Pacific, Australia and New Zealand and China Region.